U.S. patent application number 11/926952 was filed with the patent office on 2009-04-30 for harq supported client relay protocol.
Invention is credited to Qinghua Li, Ozgur Oyman.
Application Number | 20090109892 11/926952 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40582706 |
Filed Date | 2009-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090109892 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Oyman; Ozgur ; et
al. |
April 30, 2009 |
HARQ SUPPORTED CLIENT RELAY PROTOCOL
Abstract
Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, in a HARQ
supported client relaying wireless network, if the intended client
subscriber station is able to decode the transmission from the base
station, an allocated data zone otherwise allocated for relay
transmission and acknowledgment zones in the uplink subframe can be
used by another client station for uplink transmission. If the
intended client subscriber station cannot decode the transmission
from the base station but the relay station can, the relay station
may use the allocated data zone in the uplink subframe in which to
transmit a relay transmission, along with acknowledgment
transmissions in the acknowledgment zones. If the relay station
also cannot decode the base station transmission, the other client
station may use the allocated data otherwise allocated for relay
transmission and acknowledgment zones for uplink transmission.
Inventors: |
Oyman; Ozgur; (Palo Alto,
CA) ; Li; Qinghua; (Sunnyvale, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
COOL PATENT, P.C.;c/o CPA Global
P.O. BOX 52050
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402
US
|
Family ID: |
40582706 |
Appl. No.: |
11/926952 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/315 ;
714/748 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 1/1887 20130101;
H04L 2001/0097 20130101; H04L 1/1812 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/315 ;
714/748 |
International
Class: |
H04B 7/14 20060101
H04B007/14; H04L 1/18 20060101 H04L001/18 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: transmitting a downlink transmission to an
intended client station; if an acknowledgment is received from the
intended client station that the intended client station has
successfully decoded the downlink transmission, allowing another
client station to transmit in an allocated data zone otherwise
allocated for relay transmission, or in an acknowledgment zone, or
combinations thereof, of an uplink subframe.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the acknowledgment
comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
acknowledgment.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, said allowing comprising
allowing the other client station to transmit in an acknowledgment
zone of a relay station, or the intended client station, or
combinations thereof.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: if a
negative acknowledgment is received from the intended client
station regarding decoding of the downlink transmission, and if an
acknowledgment is received from a relay station that the relay
station has successfully decoded the downlink transmission,
allowing the relay station to transmit a relay transmission in the
allocated data zone of the uplink subframe.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the negative
acknowledgment comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
negative acknowledgment.
6. A method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising allowing the
intended client station to transmit an acknowledgment or negative
acknowledgement regarding the successful decoding of the downlink
transmission or the relay transmission, or combinations thereof, in
the acknowledgment zone of the uplink subframe.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: if a
negative acknowledgment is received from the intended client
station regarding decoding of the downlink transmission, and if a
negative acknowledgment is received from a relay station regarding
decoding of the downlink transmission, allowing the other client
terminal to allowing the other client station to transmit in an
allocated data zone or acknowledgment zone, or combinations
thereof, of an uplink subframe.
8. A method, comprising: receiving a downlink transmission from a
base station; decoding the downlink transmission; transmitting an
acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment to the base station
regarding whether said decoding is successful; and if said decoding
is successful, allowing another client station to transmit in an
allocated data zone otherwise allocated for relay transmission, or
in an acknowledgment zone, or combinations thereof, of an uplink
subframe.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the acknowledgment or
negative acknowledgment comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request
(HARQ) acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment.
10. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: if said
decoding is not successful, receiving a relay transmission of the
downlink transmission from a relay station; executing said decoding
again based at least in part on the downlink transmission or the
relay transmission, or combinations thereof; and transmitting an
acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment to the base station
regarding whether said executing said decoding again is successful
in the acknowledgment zone of the uplink subframe.
11. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: receiving a
negative acknowledgment from an intended client station regarding
the intended client station decoding the downlink transmission; and
if said decoding is successful, transmitting a relay transmission
of the downlink transmission to the intended client station in the
allocated data zone of the uplink subframe.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising: receiving
an acknowledgment or a negative acknowledgment from the intended
client station regarding a second attempt at decoding the downlink
transmission or the relay transmission, or combinations
thereof.
13. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: if said
decoding is not successful, withholding uplink transmission in the
uplink subframe to allow a relay transmission or an acknowledgment
transmission, or combinations thereof, to occur in the uplink
subframe.
14. An apparatus, comprising: a baseband processor; and a
radio-frequency transceiver coupled to said baseband processor,
wherein the baseband processor is configured to control said
radio-frequency transceiver to: transmit a downlink transmission to
an intended client station; and allow another client station to
transmit in an allocated data zone otherwise allocated for relay
transmission, or in an acknowledgment zone, or combinations
thereof, of an uplink subframe if an acknowledgment is received
from the intended client station that the intended client station
has successfully decoded the downlink transmission.
15. An apparatus station as claimed in claim 14, wherein the
wherein the acknowledgment comprises a hybrid automatic repeat
request (HARQ) acknowledgment.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the baseband
processor is configured to allow the other client station to
transmit in an acknowledgment zone of a relay station, or the
intended client station, or combinations thereof.
17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the baseband
processor is further configured to allow the relay station to
transmit a relay transmission in the allocated data zone of the
uplink subframe if a negative acknowledgment is received from the
intended client station regarding decoding of the downlink
transmission and if an acknowledgment is received from a relay
station that the relay station has successfully decoded the
downlink transmission.
18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the negative
acknowledgment comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
negative acknowledgment.
19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the baseband
processor is further configured to allow the intended client
station to transmit an acknowledgment or negative acknowledgement
regarding the successful decoding of the downlink transmission or
the relay transmission, or combinations thereof, in the
acknowledgment zone of the uplink subframe.
20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:
allowing the other client terminal to allowing the other client
station to transmit in an allocated data zone or acknowledgment
zone, or combinations thereof, of an uplink subframe if a negative
acknowledgment is received from the intended client station
regarding decoding of the downlink transmission and if a negative
acknowledgment is received from a relay station regarding decoding
of the downlink transmission.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] To overcome fading, wireless networks typically may employ
diversity techniques, for example channel interleavers, multiple
antennas, frequency hopping, and so on. Some systems may utilize
cooperative diversity where users partner in sharing their antennas
and other resources to create a virtual array through distributed
transmission and signal processing. However in a slow fading
environment, a burst of error may significantly degrade error
performance and thus negatively impact the reliable decoding of the
received signal. If the system can tolerate a certain delay,
retransmitting the signal using Automatic repeat request (ARQ)
protocols may help to enhance communication reliability. In Hybrid
ARQ (HARQ) protocols, error detection and correction may be
combined in order to obtain better reliability and throughput.
Cooperative diversity concepts can further increase the performance
of HARQ protocols. In this setting, when the initial frame decoding
attempt at the receiving end fails, another transmitter, designated
as the cooperating relay, performs signal retransmission over a
higher quality channel. This approach guarantees that the
destination terminal receives an independently-faded version of the
frame after retransmission from the cooperating relay, increasing
the likelihood of reliable decoding at the receiver, and reducing
the expected number of retransmissions necessary for successful
decoding of the transmitted message.
[0002] Frame structures and transmission mechanisms may be
implemented to enable client relay functionality, relaying executed
by the mobile stations, in the next version of Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax2) networks while also
meeting requirements of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 802.16m standard and ensuring compatibility and
minimal impact to implementing the IEEE 802.16e standard. In such a
setting, in the case of a downlink transmission by the base station
to a particular intended subscriber station, another subscriber
station, designated as the client relay, can decode the base
station's transmission and transmit a reencoded version to the
intended subscriber station in the uplink subframe and thereby
enable the intended subscriber station to enjoy better quality of
service. In such client relaying, the link between the base station
and client relay station and the link between the client relay
station and the intended subscriber station typically have much
better channel quality than the link between base station and
intended subscriber station. By enabling the intended subscriber
station to receive multiple faded copies of the signal transmission
from the base station, the use of client relaying leads to a better
end-to-end throughput performance through cooperative diversity
gains.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0003] Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and
distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification.
However, such subject matter may be understood by reference to the
following detailed description when read with the accompanying
drawings in which:
[0004] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a wireless network in accordance with
one or more embodiments;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a wireless network capable of
utilizing HARQ-supported client relaying in accordance with one or
more embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of the wireless network of FIG. 2
capable of utilizing HARQ-supported client relaying in accordance
with one or more embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of a HARQ-supported client
relaying network where the intended client receiver is capable of
decoding an initial downlink transmission in accordance with one or
more embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a timing diagram of a HARQ-supported client
relaying network where the intended client receiver is unable to
decode an initial downlink transmission, but the client relay
terminal is capable of decoding the initial downlink transmission
accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0009] FIG. 6 is a timing diagram of a HARQ-supported client
relaying network where neither the intended client receiver nor the
client relay terminal is capable of decoding an initial downlink
transmission in accordance with one or more embodiments; and
[0010] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an information handling system
in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0011] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of
illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not
necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of
some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements
for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals
have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding
and/or analogous elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] In the following detailed description, numerous specific
details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of
claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that claimed subject matter may be practiced
without these specific details. In other instances, well-known
methods, procedures, components and/or circuits have not been
described in detail.
[0013] In the following description and/or claims, the terms
coupled and/or connected, along with their derivatives, may be
used. In particular embodiments, connected may be used to indicate
that two or more elements are in direct physical and/or electrical
contact with each other. Coupled may mean that two or more elements
are in direct physical and/or electrical contact. However, coupled
may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct
contact with each other, but yet may still cooperate and/or
interact with each other. For example, "coupled" may mean that two
or more elements do not contact each other but are indirectly
joined together via another element or intermediate elements.
Finally, the terms "on," "overlying," and "over" may be used in the
following description and claims. "On," "overlying," and "over" may
be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct
physical contact with each other. However, "over" may also mean
that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each
other. For example, "over" may mean that one element is above
another element but not contact each other and may have another
element or elements in between the two elements. Furthermore, the
term "and/or" may mean "and", it may mean "or", it may mean
"exclusive-or", it may mean "one", it may mean "some, but not all",
it may mean "neither", and/or it may mean "both", although the
scope of claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. In
the following description and/or claims, the terms "comprise" and
"include," along with their derivatives, may be used and are
intended as synonyms for each other.
[0014] Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a wireless
network in accordance with one or more embodiments will be
discussed. As shown in FIG. 1, network 100 may be an internet
protocol (IP) type network comprising an internet 110 type network
or the like that is capable of supporting mobile wireless access
and/or fixed wireless access to internet 110. In one or more
embodiments, network 100 may be in compliance with a Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standard or future
generations of WiMAX, and in one particular embodiment may be in
compliance with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics
Engineers 802.16e standard (IEEE 802.16e). In one or more
alternative embodiments network 100 may be in compliance with a
Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE)
or a 3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) standard. In
general, network 100 may comprise any type of orthogonal frequency
division multiple access (OFDMA) based wireless network, and the
scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these
respects. As an example of mobile wireless access, access service
network (ASN) 112 is capable of coupling with base station (BS) 114
to provide wireless communication between subscriber station (SS)
116 and internet 110. Subscriber station 116 may comprise a mobile
type device or information handling system capable of wirelessly
communicating via network 100, for example a notebook type
computer, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, or
the like. ASN 112 may implement profiles that are capable of
defining the mapping of network functions to one or more physical
entities on network 100. Base station 114 may comprise radio
equipment to provide radio-frequency (RF) communication with
subscriber station 116, and may comprise, for example, the physical
layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) layer equipment in
compliance with an IEEE 802.16e type standard. Base station 114 may
further comprise an IP backplane to couple to internet 110 via ASN
112, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not
limited in these respects.
[0015] Network 100 may further comprise a visited connectivity
service network (CSN) 124 capable of providing one or more network
functions including but not limited to proxy and/or relay type
functions, for example authentication, authorization and accounting
(AAA) functions, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)
functions, or domain name service controls or the like, domain
gateways such as public switched telephone network (PSTN) gateways
or voice over internet protocol (VOIP) gateways, and/or internet
protocol (IP) type server functions, or the like. However, these
are merely example of the types of functions that are capable of
being provided by visited CSN or home CSN 126, and the scope of the
claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. Visited
CSN 124 may be referred to as a visited CSN in the case for example
where visited CSN 124 is not part of the regular service provider
of subscriber station 116, for example where subscriber station 116
is roaming away from its home CSN such as home CSN 126, or for
example where network 100 is part of the regular service provider
of subscriber station but where network 100 may be in another
location or state that is not the main or home location of
subscriber station 116. In a fixed wireless arrangement, WiMAX type
customer premises equipment (CPE) 122 may be located in a home or
business to provide home or business customer broadband access to
internet 110 via base station 120, ASN 118, and home CSN 126 in a
manner similar to access by subscriber station 116 via base station
114, ASN 112, and visited CSN 124, a difference being that WiMAX
CPE 122 is generally disposed in a stationary location, although it
may be moved to different locations as needed, whereas subscriber
station may be utilized at one or more locations if subscriber
station 116 is within range of base station 114 for example. In
accordance with one or more embodiments, operation support system
(OSS) 128 may be part of network 100 to provide management
functions for network 100 and to provide interfaces between
functional entities of network 100. Network 100 of FIG. 1 is merely
one type of wireless network showing a certain number of the
components of network 100, however the scope of the claimed subject
matter is not limited in these respects.
[0016] Referring now FIG. 2, a diagram of a wireless network
capable of utilizing HARQ supported client relaying in accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. In one or more
embodiments, prior to downlink transmission to intended client
receiver terminal, which in FIG. 2 is shown as subscriber station
116, base station 114 designates client relay station 210 to assist
its downlink communication with subscriber station 116 based at
least in part on certain relay selection criteria. Moreover, as
shown in FIG. 3, below, base station 114 specifies in downlink map
(DL_MAP) 318 and uplink map (UL_MAP) 320 of Downlink Subframe1 310,
the corresponding zones in Downlink Subframe2 314 and Uplink
Subframe2 316 that will be dedicated for the execution of the HARQ
supported client relay protocol. In general, in the timing diagrams
discussed herein, time flows along the horizontal direction,
whereas frequency changes along the vertical direction. Base
station 114 utilizes downlink map 318 and uplink map 320 to tell
its clients at what time and frequency to expect transmission and
reception of data. Uplink Subframe1 312 occurs after Downlink
Subframe1 310 and before Downlink Subframe2 314. Additional
downlink map 318 and uplink map 320 may be transmitted in Downlink
Subframe2 314, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is
not limited in this respect. In particular, base station 114
allocates a zone (T1, D1) 322 in Downlink Subframe2 314 for the
data transmission of base station 114 over link T1 218 to intended
destination subscriber station 116, which will also be heard by the
client relay station 210 over link D1 214. Base station 114 also
allocates a zone (U1/S1) 328 in Uplink Subframe2 316 for one of two
potential transmissions, where the ACK/NACK message exchanges
during the execution of the cooperative HARQ protocol determine
which transmission will take place in this zone: relay data
transmission over link U1 216 from client relay station 210 to
intended destination subscriber station 116, or uplink data
transmission by another client terminal uplink station 212 over
link S1 220. Moreover base station 114 also allocates zones in the
uplink subframe for ACK/NACK messages ((N)ACK) 324, 326, and/or 330
sent by the intended client destination subscriber station 116
and/or client relay station 210. It is assumed that the ACK/NACK
messaging during the execution of the HARQ supported client
relaying protocol can be heard by base station 114 as well as the
client terminals intended subscriber station 116, relay station
210, and/or uplink station 212. It should be noted that the
transmissions of the client devices are in the uplink subframe such
as Uplink Subframe2 316 for the examples described, below, and that
in one or more embodiments such uplink transmissions are compatible
with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.16e standard, although the scope of the claimed subject matter
is not limited in these respects.
[0017] Referring now to FIG. 4, a timing diagram of a
HARQ-supported client relaying network where the intended client
receiver is capable of decoding an initial downlink transmission in
accordance with one or more embodiments will be discussed. Consider
the downlink transmission from the base station 114 to intended
client subscriber station 116 assisted by client relay station 210
as depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Base station 114 sends data to
both the relay station 210 and the destination subscriber station
116 in Downlink Subframe2 314 over links D1 214 and T1 218,
respectively. After receiving the data in the downlink subframe,
the intended client subscriber station 116 and client relay station
210 both attempt to decode their respective received signals. If
the decoding attempt of intended client subscriber station 116 is
successful, then subscriber station 116 transmits an ACK message
410 in Uplink Subframe2 316 to acknowledge to base station 114, to
relay station 210 and to uplink station 212 the successful receipt
of the downlink data. The receipt of the ACK message 410 informs
the client relay station 210 that its retransmission during Uplink
Subframe2 316 is not needed. Moreover, the receipt of the ACK
message 410 informs base station 114 that uplink station 212 will
be transmitting in the allocated uplink data zone and the
acknowledgement zone of relay station 210 and second
acknowledgement zone of destination station 116, and allows uplink
station 212 to transmit its message or messages 412, 414, and/or
416 over link S1 220 to base station 114 over these corresponding
zones in Uplink Subframe2 316, as depicted in FIG. 4. Thus, in one
or more embodiments, when intended client receiver subscriber
station 116 is capable of decoding the initial downlink
transmission by base station 114 over link T1 218, the allocated
data and acknowledgment zones in Uplink Subframe2 316 may be
utilized by client uplink station 212 for uplink transmissions over
link S1 220, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is
not limited in this respect.
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 5, a timing diagram of a HARQ
supported client relaying network where the intended client
receiver 116 is unable to decode an initial downlink transmission
from the base station 114, but the client relay terminal 210 is
capable of decoding the initial downlink transmission accordance
with one or more embodiments will be discussed. In one or more
embodiments, if the intended client terminal subscriber station 116
cannot decode the downlink data sent by base station 114 over link
T1 218, subscriber station 116 will send out a NACK message 510.
After transmission of NACK message 510 by subscriber station 116,
client relay station 210 will inform the other terminals, for
example base station 114 and client terminals subscriber station
116 and uplink terminal 212, on whether the decoding attempt by
client relay station 210 of the downlink signal it received over
link D1 214 was successful via an ACK/NACK message. If relay
station 210 has decoded successfully and transmits ACK message 512,
then the allocated data zone 514 of Uplink Subframe2 316 is used by
relay station 210 to send a reencoded version of its received
downlink signal to the intended client subscriber station 116 over
link U1 216, as depicted in FIG. 5. Following the reception of the
data from client relay station 210, intended client receiver
subscriber station 116 now has two copies of the intended downlink
signal transmitted from base station 114 and can make a second
decoding attempt after combining these two copies of the
transmitted signal for higher reliability reception, for example by
using chase combining. The destination terminal subscriber station
116 then sends out an ACK/NACK message 516 to inform base station
114 about the outcome of the second decoding attempt on the
transmitted downlink information. Thus, in one or more embodiments
if the intended client subscriber station 116 is unable to decode
an initial downlink transmission transmitted by base station 114
via link T1 218, but client relay station 210 is capable of
decoding the initial downlink transmission, data zone 514 of Uplink
Subframe2 316 may be utilized by client relay station 210 to relay
the data received from base station 114 to destination subscriber
station 116 via link U1 216, although the scope of the claimed
subject is not limited in this respect.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 6, a timing diagram of a HARQ
supported client relaying network where neither the intended client
receiver 116 nor the client relay terminal 210 is capable of
decoding an initial downlink transmission in accordance with one or
more embodiments will be discussed. In one or more embodiments, if
neither the intended client subscriber station 116 nor the client
relay station 210 can successfully decode the downlink data sent
from base station 114, where subscriber station 116 transmits NACK
message 610 and relay station 210 transmits NACK message 612, then
the allocated data zone 614 in Uplink Subframe2 will not be used
for relay transmission. Instead, zone 614 and the last
acknowledgement zone 616, sometimes dedicated for ACK/NACK
messaging of subscriber station 116 after a second decoding attempt
as discussed with respect to FIG. 5, both may be used by the client
uplink station 212 to transmit its uplink information over link S1
220, as depicted in FIG. 6. Thus, in one or more embodiments, if
neither subscriber station 116 nor relay station 210 is capable of
decoding the initial downlink transmission from base station 114,
uplink station 212 may use available zones 614 and/or 616 for its
uplink transmission, although the scope of the claimed subject
matter is not limited in this respect.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram of an information
handling system in accordance with one or more embodiments will be
discussed. Information handling system 700 of FIG. 7 may tangibly
embody one or more of any of the network elements of network 100 as
shown in and described with respect to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. For
example, information handling system 700 may represent the hardware
of base station 114 and/or subscriber station 116, and/or may
represent the hardware of relay station 210 and/or uplink station
212, with greater or fewer components depending on the hardware
specifications of the particular device or network element.
Although information handling system 700 represents one example of
several types of computing platforms, information handling system
700 may include more or fewer elements and/or different
arrangements of elements than shown in FIG. 7, and the scope of the
claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.
[0021] Information handling system 700 may comprise one or more
processors such as processor 710 and/or processor 712, which may
comprise one or more processing cores. One or more of processor 710
and/or processor 712 may couple to one or more memories 716 and/or
718 via memory bridge 714, which may be disposed external to
processors 710 and/or 712, or alternatively at least partially
disposed within one or more of processors 710 and/or 712. In one or
more embodiments, processor 710 and/or processor 712 may comprise a
baseband processor of a radio-frequency (RF) information handling
system. Memory 716 and/or memory 718 may comprise various types of
semiconductor based memory, for example volatile type memory and/or
non-volatile type memory. Memory bridge 714 may couple to a
graphics system 720 to drive a display device (not shown) coupled
to information handling system 700.
[0022] Information handling system 700 may further comprise
input/output (I/O) bridge 722 to couple to various types of I/O
systems. I/O system 724 may comprise, for example, a universal
serial bus (USB) type system, an IEEE 1394 type system, or the
like, to couple one or more peripheral devices to information
handling system 700. Bus system 726 may comprise one or more bus
systems such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) express
type bus or the like, to connect one or more peripheral devices to
information handling system 700. A hard disk drive (HDD) controller
system 728 may couple one or more hard disk drives or the like to
information handling system, for example Serial ATA type drives or
the like, or alternatively a semiconductor based drive comprising
flash memory, phase change, and/or chalcogenide type memory or the
like. Switch 730 may be utilized to couple one or more switched
devices to I/O bridge 722, for example Gigabit Ethernet type
devices or the like. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, information
handling system 700 may include a radio-frequency (RF) block 732,
optionally controllable by processor 710 and/or processor 712, and
comprising RF circuits and devices for wireless communication with
other wireless communication devices and/or via wireless networks
such as network 100 of FIG. 1, for example where information
handling system 700 embodies base station 114 and/or subscriber
station 116, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is
not limited in this respect.
[0023] Although the claimed subject matter has been described with
a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that
elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit and/or scope of claimed subject
matter. It is believed that the subject matter pertaining to a HARQ
supported client relay protocol and/or many of its attendant
utilities will be understood by the forgoing description, and it
will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,
construction and/or arrangement of the components thereof without
departing from the scope and/or spirit of the claimed subject
matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages, the
form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment
thereof, and/or further without providing substantial change
thereto. It is the intention of the claims to encompass and/or
include such changes.
* * * * *